Health Care

ECU HEALTH

ECU Health is a mission-driven, 1708-bed academic health care system serving more than 1.4 million people in 29 eastern North Carolina counties. The not-for-profit system is comprised of 13,000 team members, nine hospitals and a physician group that encompasses over 1,100 academic and community providers practicing in over 180 primary and specialty clinics located in more than 130 locations. The flagship ECU Health Medical Center, a Level I Trauma Center, and ECU Health Maynard Children’s Hospital serve as the primary teaching hospitals for the Brody School of Medicine at East Carolina University. ECU Health and the Brody School of Medicine share a combined academic mission to improve the health and well-being of eastern North Carolina through patient care, education and research. For more information, visit ECUHealth.org.

In fiscal year 2021, ECU Health provided care to more than 65,000 inpatients and had more than 1,281,000 encounters with patients on an emergency, outpatient and ambulatory basis, performed nearly 50,000 surgeries and delivered over 6,100 babies. Key service lines system-wide are heart and vascular, cancer, behavioral health and neurosciences.

The system’s 11-member board of directors includes: Marcus Albernaz, MD; Shirley Carraway, Ed.D; Carlester T. Crumpler, Jr.; Deborah W. Davis; Ernest L. “Ernie” Evans; Jimmy F. Garris; Robert J. “Bob” Greczyn, Jr.; J. Bryant Kittrell, III; Philip G. Rogers, Ed.D; C. Bynum Satterwhite; Anand “Andy” Tewari, MD .

Michael Waldrum, MD, is chief executive officer of ECU Health and dean of the Brody School of Medicine at East Carolina University. Brian Floyd is president of ECU Health Medical Center, the flagship hospital in the system, and chief operating officer of ECU Health. David Hughes is chief financial officer. For more information, visit ECUHealth.org.

ECU HEALTH MEDICAL CENTER

ECU Health’s hospital in Greenville is a private, not-for-profit 974-bed tertiary referral facility that is among the nation’s largest hospitals. It serves as the teaching hospital for The Brody School of Medicine at East Carolina University. It is governed by a 20-member board of trustees whose members include: Marcus Albernaz, MD; Angela Allen; Richard Balot; Kristin Braswell, Ed.D; Anthony Cannon; Shirley Carraway, Ed.D; Carlester Crumpler; Roger Davenport; Deborah Davis; Phillip Dixon Sr.; Michael Fitzpatrick; Christopher Jenkins; Mary Johnson, RN, MSN, FAAN; J. Bryant Kittrell, III; William Monk Jr.; Philip Rogers, Ed.D; Diane Taylor; Anand Tewari, MD; Donald Thompson Jr.; Michael R. Waldrum, MD.

Some key services include:

f ECU Health Cancer Care at the Eddie and Jo Allison Smith Tower is a 96-bed center that offers 60 infusion areas with a view of outdoor healing gardens and more than 50 clinical spaces centered on patient care. An image renewal center provides access to wigs, prosthetics and compression sleeves and garments. A resource center offers additional services to patients and families, including psychotherapy, support groups and complementary therapies.

f The East Carolina Heart Institute is a partnership of ECU Health Medical Center, East Carolina University and cardiovascular experts in private practice, academic medicine and research. Teams of specialists have earned international acclaim for advances in minimally invasive robotic-assisted surgery using the da Vinci surgical system. The institute is housed in a six-story facility with 120 cardiovascular beds.

f Rehabilitation Center offers 75 inpatient beds and offers the full continuum of rehabilitation services, including state-of-the-art aquatic therapy, vocational evaluation, speech and audiology services in addition to physical, recreation and occupational therapy. The rehab team focuses on brain injury, spinal cord injury, pediatric rehabilitation, stroke, neurological disorders and musculoskeletal disorders.

f Behavioral Health offers a 52-bed psychiatric unit and cares for mental illness and related disorders.

f The James and Connie Maynard Children’s Hospital is a 198-bed facility which provides dedicated space to meet the medical needs of the smallest patients and their families — from newly designed patient rooms to pediatric equipment and specially trained staff. It includes a 50-bed neonatal intensive care unit serving the East.

f Level 1 Trauma Center is the medical center’s focal point for trauma care. It includes an emergency department, a children’s emergency department and ECU Health EastCare, which provides critical care air and ground transport.

f Wound Healing Center brings together a team of doctors, nurses and technicians to offer advanced specialized care such as hyperbaric oxygen therapy for patients who have wounds that are difficult to heal.

f Community Health Programs collaborates with local government and private agencies to address health issues in Pitt County. Programs include pediatric asthma, school health, injury prevention and senior services.

f EastCare provides critical care air and ground service to areas within 150 miles of Greenville. Based at ECU Health Medical Center, ECU Health EastCare is nationally recognized for safety, quality and service and is fully accredited by the Commission on Accreditation of Medical Transport Systems. The current fleet includes five medical helicopters based in Bertie, Wayne, Nash, Onslow and Craven counties.

f Home Health and Hospice provides health care for patients in the comfort of their homes, as well as care and support for terminally ill patients and their families. The Service League of Greenville Inpatient Hospice is a joint project of ECU Health and the Service League of Greenville.

ECU Health Physicians

ECU Health Physicians, the provider group of ECU Health and Brody School of Medicine, includes over 1,100 physicians and advanced practice providers across more than 130 locations in eastern North Carolina. ECU Health Physicians offers primary care for all ages as well as specialty services for cancer, heart disease, neurosciences, orthopedics, digestive disorders, arthritis and other specialty services. The practice partners with Maynard Children’s Hospital and ECU Health Medical Center to provide a Level I Trauma Center that serves a 29-county region. The practice is nationally recognized for excellence in treating patients with diabetes and high blood pressure, advancing continued treatment for weightloss surgery patients, caring for children and adults suffering from heart defects and heart disease, and providing expert care for women with high-risk pregnancies. Learn more about ECU Health Physicians or schedule an appointment at ecuhealth.org.

Brody School of Medicine

East Carolina University’s fouryear medical school opened in 1977 and was renamed the Brody School of Medicine at East Carolina University in 1999. Today, the Brody School of Medicine enrolls more than 300 medical students and trains more than 400 medical residents and fellows in 40 accredited residency and fellowship programs. In addition to medical degrees, the school awards master’s and doctoral degrees in public health and offers graduate programs in basic biomedical sciences leading to the PhD degree in the areas of anatomy and cell biology, biochemistry and molecular biology, microbiology and immunology, pharmacology and toxicology, physiology, pathology and laboratory medicine, and biological sciences. ECU also offers MD/ MBA, MD/MPH and MD/PhD dual degree programs. Approximately 80 doctoral and more than 100 master’s students are enrolled in Brody’s basic sciences and public health graduate programs. Brody accepts only North Carolina residents, and its students graduate with about one-third less debt than their peers nationwide. The school prides itself on helping to tackle the primary care shortage and maldistribution issues in North Carolina. The Brody School of Medicine graduates approximately 86 medical students per year and welcomes about 125 residents and fellows each year. As of 2020, more than half (55%) of East Carolina University’s medical school graduates were practicing in North Carolina – in 86 of the state’s 100 counties, many in rural and underserved areas (26% practicing in more distressed neighborhoods of North Carolina). 62% of graduates train or practice a primary care specialty five years after graduating. The school consistently ranks within the top 10% of U.S. medical schools for graduating physicians who practice in-state, who practice primary care, and who practice in underserved areas. In accordance with Brody’s legislatively mandated mission to recruit minority and disadvantaged students, the school also consistently ranks high nationally for graduating physicians from minority groups that are considered underrepresented in medicine. Most recently, the Brody School of Medicine was ranked 9th (out of 125 schools ranked) as Most Diverse by US News and World Report. The school’s internationally recognized researchers are studying the health conditions and health challenges most prevalent throughout rural eastern North Carolina. They are recognized as international leaders in the study of metabolic diseases like diabetes, hypertension and obesity. Their findings drive innovation in the way ECU delivers care and prepares the state’s future health care workforce. Learn more about the Brody School of Medicine at medicine. ecu.edu.

College of Allied Health Sciences

As North Carolina’s top produ-er of allied health professionals, ECU’s College of Allied Health Sciences offers a variety of baccalaureate, master’s and doctoral programs in Addiction and Rehabilitation Studies, Clinical Laboratory Science, Communication Sciences and Disorders, Health Services and Information Management, Nutrition Science, Occupational Therapy, Physical Therapy and Physician Assistant Studies. More than 70% of the college’s graduates stay in the state to work, with more than half in eastern North Carolina. The college also serves the local community by providing the following low-cost or pro-bono patient care services:

Live.

f The Navigate Counseling Clinic helps clients identify challenges, cope with stress, improve interpersonal skills and relationships, choose a career or education path, improve confidence and self-esteem, improve assertiveness, and assess and address the impact of alcohol or drug use in their lives. Individual, group, and telehealth counseling is available. Services are free to ECU students and employees as well as the community adjacent to ECU. It is located inside the ECU Health Sciences Building. Call 252-744-0328 or email navigate@ecu.edu for more information.

f The ECU Speech-Lan-

guage-Hearing Clinic (ECU-SL-

HC) is the faculty practice of the Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders. The clinical faculty includes 8 fulltime speech-language pathologists and 6 full-time audiologists. Comprehensive services related to speech, language, voice, stuttering, aphasia, and ALS are offered for patients of all ages. The clinic also houses the North Carolina Scottish Rite Clinic for Childhood Language Disorders, one of 5 Rite Care clinics in the state of North Carolina. Comprehensive audiology services for all ages include hearing evaluations, hearing aid fitting and care, cochlear implant evaluation and mapping, auditory processing evaluations, and tinnitus evaluation and rehabilitation. The ECU-SLHC is located inside the ECU Health Sciences Building. Call 252744-6104 for more information.

health care cont.

ECU Department of Physical Therapy provides physical therapy services though a faculty practice clinic. The clinic employs licensed physical therapists who are board certified specialists to ensure outstanding physical therapy interventions. Therapists treat a variety of injuries and diagnoses for patients of all ages and physical activity levels. Their areas of expertise include sports injuries, spine pain, vestibular rehabilitation, neurologic disorders, concussions, general orthopedic related injuries, and cardiopulmonary diagnoses including long COVID. The clinic is located in the ECU Family Medicine Center at 101 Heart Drive; call 252-744-0172 or email ptclinic@ecu.edu for appointments. All major insurance carriers accepted. Learn more about the College of Allied Health Sciences at cahs. ecu.edu.

f School of Dental Medicine ECU’s School of Dental Medicine educates the next generation of general practice dentists while providing a full range of dental care services for the public at reduced cost. Faculty, resident and student providers offer services in Greenville and at community service learning centers in eight underserved areas across North Carolina. The dental school’s first class graduated in 2015; the school now has more than 400 alumni and accepts about 52 students each year. More than 90 percent of ECU dental graduates are working in North Carolina’s most rural and underserved communities, living the school’s mission to provide access to dental care to populations and communities that have lacked access in the past. The school accepts only North Carolina residents, and its graduates begin their residencies or careers with an average debt of $123,500 — well below the national average. The school prepares its students for outstanding careers through an experience that offers a nationally recognized, award-winning model and curriculum along with cutting-edge technology and techniques. The school employs a revolutionary approach to education that includes rotations in the community service learning centers across the state, so that students can learn about region-specific needs and unique demographics in addition to receiving top-quality dental instruction. ECU School of Dental Medicine students, residents and faculty have treated more than 94,000 patients from all 100 North Carolina counties. They also participate in regional and local outreach programming — from Give Kids a Smile and Missions of Mercy to ECU-based initiatives like ECU Smiles for Veterans and Sonrie Clinics — that provide care to special populations in need of dental procedures. Through innovative education, patient care, research and service, the ECU School of Dental Medicine is creating smiles and providing better access to oral health care for the people of North Carolina. Insurance plans including Medicaid are accepted. Call 252-737-7834 or visit dental. ecu.edu to learn more.

f College of Nursing The ECU College of Nursing is a recognized center of excellence in nursing education, research and practice and is the state’s leading educator of newly licensed nurses with a 97% pass rate for the NCLEX-RN exam. The college’s academic programs prepare professional nurses as baccalaureate generalists, as specialists for advanced practice at the master’s level and as practitioners and scientists at the doctoral level. The college has the state’s only nurse midwifery program and graduate level nursing students boast a 100% pass rate for professional examinations. In addition to offering traditional pathways to a baccalaureate degree in nursing, as well as online options for many of its programs, the College of Nursing offers an accelerated second-degree Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) option for students who already possess a baccalaureate degree in another field. The college also partners with 15 community colleges in eastern North Carolina to offer students a four-year option in which they concurrently complete an associate degree and bachelor’s degree in nursing through the ENC Regionally Increasing Baccalaureate Nurses (RIBN) program.

Nearly 90% of ECU nursing graduates remain in North Carolina to practice, and nearly 50% work in the underserved areas of North Carolina. The college’s more than 12,000 alumni work in all 50 U.S. states and beyond. The college is perennially ranked among the top nursing schools in the nation. Learn more about the College of Nursing at nursing.ecu.edu.

f Laupus Health Sciences

Library

Laupus Health Sciences Library, located on ECU’s Health Sciences Campus, is a hub of academic activity, research, discovery and exploration. Its extensive digital and periodical collections, exhibits, special programs and other resources are vital to a complete health-focused education. The library connects the education, research and clinical programs of the ECU Health Sciences, Eastern Area Health Education Center (EAHEC) and health care practitioners at ECU Health Medical Center in Greenville and ECU Health system affiliates across eastern North Carolina with quality health information.

The library offers modern and spacious study and meeting rooms, as well as engaging History Collections exhibits on topics that highlight historic health events and underscore common threads of the human experience. It is home to the largest anatomical model collection among health sciences libraries in North Carolina. The library also oversees the Country Doctor Museum in Bailey, which collects and preserves 19th-century medical artifacts and is the oldest museum in the United States devoted to rural health care history. Learn more about Laupus Library at hsl.ecu.edu.

U.S. DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS

Veterans Health Care Center, 401 Moye Blvd., Greenville Phone: 252-830-2149. Hours: 8 a.m.-4:30 p.m, Monday-Friday, The Greenville VA Health Care Center opened in January 2014. It employs a staff of more than 300 health care professionals providing 35 individual primary care and specialty services, including mental health, cardiology, dental and eye care, diabetic education, orthopedic, pharmacy, physical therapy, women’s health and others:

f Primary care and specialty care services for veterans in eastern North Carolina. f Behavioral health services including individual, group and family counseling. f Handicapped accessible: Full and easy access for all veterans. f Personal care: Highly qualified primary care providers, specialty care referrals to the Durham VA Medical Center. f Laboratory: Blood drawing services available. f Prescriptions: Routine prescriptions processed through the mail or myhealth. va.gov.

PITT COUNTY HEALTH DEPARTMENT

The Health Department protects, promotes and ensures the health of all people in Pitt County. It provides many services to achieve this mission: Blood pressure/glucose/cholesterol screening; diagnosis and treatment of sexually transmitted diseases; family planning; HIV testing and counseling; immunizations for children and adults; nutrition counseling; other communicable disease control; pregnancy testing and maternity services; screening for selected cancers; tuberculosis treatment and follow-up; well child health care; Women’s Infants and Children’s (WIC) Nutrition Education and Supplementation Program. The staff partners with the schools, local community groups, businesses, and other health care providers throughout the community to develop community based health improvement initiatives such as infant mortality reduction, breastfeeding promotion, chronic disease risk reduction and health promotion programs. Address: 201 Government Circle, Pitt County Office Park. Phone: 902-2300

f James D. Bernstein Community

Health Center

261 Belvoir Highway 252-695-6352 for medical appointments and 252-695-6355 for dental appointments. Medical hours: 8:30 a.m.-7:30 p.m., Monday-Thursday, and Friday 8:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Dental hours: 7:45 a.m. to 5:45 p.m. Website: gchcinc.org James D. Bernstein Community Health Center (CHC) and Bernstein Dental Services offer medical, dental, mental health, virtual visits and COVID-19

James and Connie Maynard Children’s Hospital, located at ECU Health Medical Center in Greenville.

Aaron Hines/City of Greenville vaccinations. Bernstein CHC provides care to the entire family and offers a range of services, including routine health and wellness screenings, immunizations/vaccinations, physicals, sick visits, women’s care, chronic disease care management, laboratory services, medication assistance, referrals to specialists, health education, case management, health coverage assistance, and seasonal farmworker assistance. The center has bilingual staff on site. Bernstein Dental Services offers dental care for the entire family, including cleanings, extractions, root canals, orthodontics and implants. The center is operated by Greene County Health Care, which has sites in Greene and Pamlico counties as well.

f Eastern AHEC 2600 W. Arlington Blvd. 252-744-5221 easternahec.net The Eastern Area Health Education Center in Greenville is one of nine centers under the North Carolina AHEC Program. The NC AHEC Program provides and supports educational activities and services with a focus on primary care in rural communities and those with less access to resources to recruit, train and retain the workforce needed to create a healthy North Carolina. Eastern AHEC serves 23 counties in eastern North Carolina with offices in Greenville and Elizabeth City. It is associated with East Carolina University schools of medicine, nursing and allied health and works with the dentistry, pharmacy and public health programs at University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. If you are looking for health care resources in the region, Eastern AHEC helps with continuing education, conferences, student housing and more.

HEALTH CARE SERVICE AGENCIES

Information is subject to change.

f Alzheimer’s North Carolina, 252-355-0054 f American Cancer Society, 252-695-9028 f American Heart Association, 919-463-8300 f American Lung Association of North Carolina, 919-792-1641 f American Red Cross: The American Red Cross Pitt County Chapter provides CPR and lifeguard training and assists disaster victims. 252-355-3800. Address: 601 F Country Club Drive f The Blood Services division, 7581140, 700 Cromwell Drive, Greenville Website: www.redcrossblood.org f The American Red Cross Blood mobile holds blood drives in different parts of the community. Call (800) GIVE-LIFE. f Autism Society of North Carolina Eastern Advocacy Office, 252-7561316 f Down East ALS Support Group (Lou Gehrig’s disease) 302-388-4553 f Eastern NC Center for Independent Living, Disability Advocate and Resource Center, 252-355-6215 f HonorBridge, (formerly Carolina Donor Services), 909 E. Arlington Blvd., honorbridge.org, 1-800-200-2672 f Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation International, Triangle/Eastern N.C. Chapter, (919) 847-2630 f La Leche League, breastfeeding advocacy group, Meets at Happy Girls Bras and Breastfeeding, 252-364-8729; Vallere Shelton, 919-709-5438 f National Multiple Sclerosis Society, 800-344-4867 f Pitt County AIDS Service Organization, 252-830-1660

Mental Health and Recovery:

Information is subject to change.

f Alcoholics Anonymous: aa.org f Center for Family Violence Prevention (for domestic violence victims), 252 758-4400 or 252-752-3811 for the 24-hour crisis line f Hopeful Beginnings Postpartum Support Group, 252-847-7439. f National Alliance of the Mentally Ill (NAMI), 902-6264 f Narcotics Anonymous, 252-321-1631 f NarAnon family support group, 919 880-0473 f Overeaters Anonymous, 919-406 9300 Web: www.triangleoa.org to find a meeting. f PORT Health, 252-752-0483, porthealth.org f REAL Crisis Intervention, 252-758 HELP (4357) f Trillium Health Resources (provides management of behavioral health care in Pitt County, eastern North Carolina), 877-685-2415, trilliumhealthresources.org f Walter B. Jones Center alcohol and drug abuse treatment, 252-830-3426, www.ncdhhs.gov/divisions/dsohf walter-b-jones